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Saturday, October 29, 2011

I didn't get a chance to wrap up my final days of the State Fair of Texas thanks to an unexpected hospital visit. I've been resting up all week on the couch, but it will be a 6-8 week recovery for my wounds to heal. What happened? Well, read on after I photo dump my final days at the fair for you:

In previous years, I have indulged in the soft serve. This year, I only had one cone.....

My State Fair of Texas boyfriend, Julian, AKA my co-worker's son! He greeted me with a "Burtt" every day, it was kind of awesome being one of his favorites.

This was my co-host's favorite activity, jumping the Traxxas truck over me during the show. I do my own stunts!

The best thing I ate at the fair, Deep Fried Pumpkin Pie. Yum!

What is going on with my hair in this photo?

A great reminder that if you eat too much fried food in Texas, you wind up as big as this:

We had an early Halloween party the last week we were there. Matt and I made a quick trip to CVS.

So, Toyota Live went as CVS witches. I actually love this photo.

My CVS purchases: my hat, my cup, and my Peanuts purse.

The start of the show!

Last night in Texas.....and a trip to the emergency room. The waitress at the hotel accidentally dumped a catering tray of hot water on my legs. I knew it was bad when I stood up and dropped and F-bomb as I am not someone who swears that much. I then tried to remove my jeans in the middle of the bar....uh, yeah, the pain was that bad. My left foot and calf all wrapped up.

And my right thigh all wrapped up. I wound up with 2nd degree burns. Not a fun way to end my trip, but I am going to be okay. I was so bored waiting for the doctor that I tweeted much of my hospital visit. (Go back to October 23rd if you want all of the morbid details.) A big thanks to everyone who pitched in to help that night: Matt, Kyle, Tina, Josh, Evan, Carolina, Christina (Tina), and Jessica. I appreciate it!

The hotel staff all heard about the big incident the night before and one of the valet staff made me a balloon flower while I waited for the airport car service. I couldn't wait to get home.

A big thanks to my agents at Productions Plus who sent me this beautiful bouquet. It looks great in my dining room.

Friday, October 28, 2011

In August, I had the opportunity to interview some of the artists from Radio Disney'sNext Big Thing (NBT) at the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood for Red Carpet Report. We were ushered to the penthouse of the hotel on a hot summer day where Hollywood Ending and Shealeigh Daily were being coached by Australian pop singer, Cody Simpson. It was quite an exciting day for the artists since they had the opportunity to perform with Cody and I know they were just thrilled to be in Hollywood. It was hard to keep all of the day's activities secret since the information was embargoed until now. So, now that the secret is out, enjoy the photos and interviews! Be sure to stay tuned to Radio Disney today for Cody Simpson's Jam Session with NBT's Season 4 contestants.

I had a blast with Shealeigh and hello, look at those awesome yellow nails......

Her interview...

Okay, the Hollywood Ending fans are mad at me because I didn't let them all talk at once. You try interviewing 5 guys at once. It's hard work! Regardless, it was fun finding out who is the messiest, the bossiest, and the one who takes the longest to get ready.....

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Over a year ago, I was asked to play a role in a web series pilot called Squaresville. I reminded the creator of the series, Matt Enlow, that I am definitely not an actress, but he reassured me that the role was a TV reporter. Surely I could handle that, right? We shot my scenes the night before I left for a month at the State Fair of Texas in 2010. In the following months, I was able to meet the incredible stars of the series, Mary Kate Wiles and Kylie Sparks, who play the inseparable duo trying to fit in a world that sometimes makes us feel like you can't ever fit in. Their tag line is so fitting: "They say it's hip to be square. Sometimes I am not so sure."

Well, the series is now raising funds to complete production and they have 18 days left to complete their $12,000 goal. They have hit a series of milestones and they continue to release minisodes after each goal is met. My cameo appeared yesterday, how did I do? Well, you can watch it all below, let me know what you think!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

I had a really fun Monday which began with an interview with Jennie Garth. How can you not love the original Peach Pit during the Brenda Years? I loved everything about Kelly Taylor and Dylan McKay during that summer season when Brenda went to Paris. Fast forward to 2011 when I get the opportunity to interview Jennie Garth for Starpulse. In 2009, I interviewed former Executive Producer/Show Runner for 90210 , Charles Rosin, who gave me the inside scoop on what it was like to work on that set with all of the hottest TV actors of the 90's. He had some wonderful things to say about Jennie, so I was excited to start out my week with her. I hope you check out the short article and video interview on the Starpulse page here.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Lately, I have been getting asked this same question over and over. I think it is a natural question given the nature of my job. Can you guess what it is? The question is "Of all of the celebrities you have interviewed, who is your favorite?" I always feel like I disappoint people because the answer isn't the person they expect. I think they want me to say Ryan Reynolds or Gwyneth Paltrow or Jeremy Piven. While they have all been exciting people to interview, it is the people who have touched my life in some way that usually stand out in my mind. People like Michelle Kwan, the two-time Olympic medalist who had me obsessed with the sport of figure skating for a decade and who, at the time, was flirting with a final comeback. Or Dick Van Dyke of Mary Poppins who obliged me with a little soft shoe dance step on the red carpet. I mean, he's the guy who sang "Chim Chim Cher-ee" and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious". Or even, Keith Dorrington, the Academy Award nominated writer of The Fighter. We are both from neighboring small towns in Massachusetts and we were standing together on the red carpet at the Oscars in February. It was hard not to get choked up as he talked about the overwhelming night and how his dreams were coming true. This doesn't happen to you in small town Massachusetts, so I was with him every moment of that big night.

Yet, those incredible interviews don't hold a candle to the exchange I had with Joel Grey, the legendary Broadway performer, whom I had the opportunity to speak with on the red carpet at the Tony Awards. I was sixteen years old all over again and I did my best not to cry my fake eyelashes off. When I have a discouraging day, I remember this exchange because it reminds me of where I came from and how far I have come. I've shared this video before, but since it answers the top question I get here at Red Carpet Closet, I am sharing it again. This is the raw footage from my interview with Joel Grey:

Who are some of your inspirations in your life? Let me know in the comments below.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Well, kids, I am rounding day 19 at the State Fair of Texas. This show is always a marathon, not a sprint to the finish. I've been dressed like a bumble bee for days now and it was only fitting that an audience member, Tyler, came dressed as a bumble bee to our show. Yellow and black will never look the same to me. I know I've dressed the same way in 2009 and 2010, but I think I'm ready for a new look. How about blue next year?

I happily have indulged in delicious fried food this year like a little Chicken Express fried chicken, fried okra, hush puppies, and fried corn nuggets. Have you ever tried a fried corn nugget? Holy cow! Who knew you could fry creamed corn in a little nugget of deliciousness? I promise I have been working out a lot this time around since I have a few red carpet events once I hit the West Coast and the East Coast again in the next few weeks.

Finally, a high five to the chef who created a Deep Fried Grilled Cheese with a side of tomato soup and potato sticks from your elementary school brown bag lunch topped off with Sweet Tea and a pickle. Sometimes the simplicity of food is the best way to eat. *UPDATE*: I am getting a lot of inquiries here on where to find Deep Fried Grilled Cheese at the fair. The stand is just across from the main entrance of the Old Mill Restaurant. Enjoy! And let me know what you think about the amazing Deep Fried Grilled Cheese.

I will be back to all of my red carpet shenanigans next week, but I hope you are able to join me tonight (Monday, October 17th) for my appearance on the Driving with Gass show. Kevin and I debate the latest entertainment news....the good, the bad, and the ugly. I hope you join us by listening here at KWSS.org at 7:35PM PT/10:35PM ET. You can also join in the conversation on my Twitter account with the hashtag: #RadioBurtt.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

I look forward to my Fletcher's Corny Dog every year. It's tasty and I always get the jalapeño and cheese dog for a little extra kick. This year, my Corny Dog was rather mediocre. It just wasn't as good as I remember, so it was a waste of calories. I think I should have had a deep fried grilled cheese if I was going to go big.....instead, I went home.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Ah, Red River Rivalry weekend....for those of you not from Texas or Oklahoma, this is a huge football weekend between OU and UT that occurs each year at the Cotton Bowl at the State Fair of Texas. As someone who went to a high school and a university without a football team, it is sometimes an overwhelming venture. It's fun to watch everyone decked out in their school colors and see how passionate the fans are about their respective teams. I am still trying to figure out how a punter and a place kicker differ on the field and why five minutes in football takes twenty minutes in real time. Nonetheless, I survived my third Red River Rivalry weekend with flying colors....yellow and black.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

In December 1984, the big family Christmas gift was a Macintosh computer. I spent my entire holiday vacation inserting the MacWrite and MacPaint diskettes and wasting reams of paper and ink cartridges printing up my creations. I even went off to college with my Macintosh about a decade later and wrote countless term papers on that computer.

Dancing a little West Side Story with my iPad 2 at the State Fair of Texas yesterday. (I seriously need a spray tan.)

I didn't rejoin the Mac revolution until 2003 when I bought my first iPod, but once I went back to the cult of Apple, I never left. My old Dell desktop went away as I bought an iBook G4 laptop in 2004, a MacBook Pro in 2008, my 3G iPhone in 2008, a gifted iPad in 2010, an iPhone 4 in 2011, and 2 gifted iPad 2s in 2011. Steve Jobs revolutionized the way we look at technology and I always joke that if I could marry my iPhone, I would. I'm not kidding.

At CES in 2004 launching iTunes for HP. (Look at that awful haircut!)

In 2004, I had the pleasure of helping HP launch their version of iTunes and the hPod at the Consumer Electronics Show(CES) in Las Vegas. Yes, this Apple/HP partnership was short-lived, but it was an exciting time. I remember teaching people how they could find a particular song, download it to their iTunes playlist, and then make a mix of a variety of artists. I remember adding a plethora of Michael Jackson, U2, and No Doubt songs to my unlimited iTunes account while I was at the show. I was hooked and I watched as others shared in my amazement that week at CES.

On the Goodyear Blimp a few weeks ago.....

These days, it's rare to find me without my iPhone or laptop and my iPhone has been photographed everywhere from the red carpet at the Oscars to the Goodyear Blimp. I own a collection of Pixar films from The Incredibles to Finding Nemo and I wear my Pixar sweatshirt with pride. I am a happy Apple owner and shareholder. My thoughts go out to his family and friends at home and at Apple. You revolutionized the world. RIP, Steve Jobs.

I would love to hear your stories about how Apple and Steve Jobs revolutionized your life. Share in the comments below.

Remember when I posted this photo of Evan yesterday? I thought he might regret letting me eat a bite of his Deep Fried Grilled Cheese after I photo bombed his picture. Well, he paid me back alright. He let me take a bite of his Fried Bubblegum (It's really a fried marshmallow with bubblegum flavoring.) which was dubbed the "Most Creative" of the State Fair of Texas. Um, creative and colorful, but tasty? Not so much. See how it all went down as I took my first bite:

Dedicated to my awesome niece who dared me to eat this. Next time, you try it, sister!